Published at 2nd of October 2026 5:46 am

Chapter 2301: Su Yu Meets Human Emperor (2)

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Shortly after, Su Yu and Human Emperor walked to the side.

The river continued flowing under them.

Slowly, the smile faded from Human Emperor's face. "You're a smart one. And you understand how things are. The moment I saw you, I understood just how much those under you revered you. Even in the presence of the Human Emperor, they did not forget their loyalty toward you."

Just as Su Yu was about to speak, Human Emperor raised his hand and continued, "I'm only a clone. I can't stay here for long. Let me make things short."

"Please do, Human Emperor."

"You probably know a bit about my current status. Maybe you don't. It doesn't matter." Human Emperor said, "Many, many years ago, not long after I left with the myriad races, I was injured. Heavily injured. Do you know why I opted to leave with the myriad races back then?"

Curious, Su Yu asked, "Because the myriad races were planning a revolt?"

Human Emperor laughed, "A revolt? Would I fear their revolt?"

His bearing turned domineering as he sneered, "They couldn't even decide what they collectively wanted. Would I fear a revolt from the likes of them? I only needed to kill some to warn the others. Target the strong and recruit the weak. Sooner or later, they would be pacified yet again."

Su Yu raised his brow.

True.

In that case, was there an inside story behind Human Emperor's choice?

Human Emperor did not drag things out. He spoke forthrightly, "Instead of doing that, I brought the myriad races away. I did not want to fight a war in the Myriad Realms."

Human Emperor continued, "The Myriad Realms are not as simple as they seem. Let me put it that way. I entered the River of Time with the myriad races to keep the Heaven Gate suppressed."

Su Yu's heart thumped.

Human Emperor gazed ahead and said, "The Heaven Gate is far ahead, near the end of the river. I brought the myriad races here, sealed the upstream, and slowed the flow of the river. I did all that just to suppress the Heaven Gate and prevent it from opening too soon.

"At the time, we could already see the first omens of Heaven Gate's threat. Culture King's disappearance inside the Heaven Gate was one such omen. At almost the same time, the myriad races stirred. I suspected that everything was related to the beings behind the Heaven Gate.

"I lacked time. I did not fear the myriad races, but I couldn't afford to let the Heaven Gate open so soon. We would have been completely helpless against it."

Su Yu asked solemnly, "Is it a guaranteed fact that everyone behind the Heaven Gate is an enemy?"

"Yes!" Human Emperor said sternly, "Definitely. Remember this, Su Yu. Everyone behind the three gates is an enemy."

Su Yu raised his brow, "Even Star?" (Star = Xing)

"Even Star."

Human Emperor did not seem surprised that Su Yu knew about Star. He wouldn't even be surprised if he knew that Su Yu had seen Star before.

Human Emperor said, "This is the only thing you need to remember. Everyone behind the gates is an enemy. Or to be precise, they are all potential enemies, but you won't go wrong with viewing them all as enemies. Three gates, three eras. They don't belong to the same era."

"The past is the past. It's very hard for the past to return."

Su Yu was greatly surprised. According to Human Emperor, those behind the three gates could only be enemies.

Why?

Su Yu asked, "Just what, exactly, are the three gates?"

After a long silence, Human Emperor answered, "Cleaner."

"Hmm?"

Su Yu shook slightly. What was that?

Human Emperor said, "Cleaner. The past. The decayed. The obsolete. The ones blocking the progress of the future. All of these must be removed. The three gates are the cleaners removing the decaying eras, making way for progress and allowing new eras and civilizations to emerge."

Human Emperor sighed and continued, "The Myriad Realms are very important. This is the key to the return of the decayed. With the destruction of the new age, the old age can return. Only then can the old age regain life."

Su Yu's eyes flickered as he asked, "In short, we are of the new age. Those behind the three gates can only be our enemies because of that. Is that so?"

"You can say so." Human Emperor said, "Back then, the Heaven Gate was on the verge of opening. We had yet to finish our preparations. Left with no choice, I could only drive the myriad races into the river. Remember, the river is the key. It is both the core of the Myriad Realms and the key affecting the various eras. All three gates are located in the river, including the Earth Gate.

"By moving upstream and freezing this stretch of the river, we managed to slow the opening of the Heaven Gate.

"The fools from the myriad races might know this, or they might not. But they are indeed helping with this just by existing. The moment we return to the Myriad Realms, the river will flow normally. The opening of the gate will be inevitable."

Su Yu said, "So you didn't drag the myriad races off with you back then just because of their rebellion."

Human Emperor nodded, "Many factors came together to push me toward that path. Culture King and Martial King left. The Heaven Gate was on the verge of opening. After thinking about it again and again, I decided that I could only drag the myriad races along and have them help suppress the Heaven Gate as well."

Human Emperor sighed, "But ultimately, I overestimated myself. The myriad races weren't weak. What I did strengthened their determination to unite. When they joined hands, I was forced to fight with all my strength. In the end, my physical body nearly fell apart and my sea of willpower was badly damaged, leaving me with only a tenth of my original strength."

Once again, he sighed with regret. He could scheme all he wanted, but things beyond his expectations would still happen.

Su Yu asked, "Are your injuries that heavy?"

"Yes." Human Emperor nodded, "As a Creator, you should understand. After creating your world, the River of Time will start rejecting you. The dao I wield has been rejecting me as well. Thus, recovery has been difficult."

"What if you sever your connection with your world?" Su Yu asked with a frown, "Cut your original dao off and focus on the River of Time. Or you can sever your connection with the River of Time and focus fully on your world."

Human Emperor shook his head, "It's too late. I might be able to do that if you had appeared earlier. But now...I can't anymore. The backlash from it might kill me shortly after."

Su Yu's frown grew deeper. "Is there no hope whatsoever?"

"Well, there is." Human Emperor smiled, "If you can reach my level, Xing Yue's life and death daos will only be slightly weaker than your world. With that, there might be hope for me."

"First tier or beyond?"

Su Yu asked. The two were being surprisingly forthright with each other.

Human Emperor chuckled and asked, "Do you know the actual difference between the first and second tiers?"

Su Yu thought about it and shook his head. However, he still voiced what little he knew about the topic, "I have a vague sense of a chain, or a shackle. Something that I can feel during each advancement."

"The ranks were what Culture King and I determined based on our strength back then. At the time, the two of us were used as the main dividing line for the rest."

He explained, "Back then, we assigned the strength, offensive ability, and other aspects of an average dao within a certain range into a single unit of measurement. It is a rather rough method. Essentially, a singular unit is known as one dao. In practice, this was how those of the primordial past or even earlier classified their strength as well."

Su Yu raised his brow, "In short, this is consistent with the tiers used during the primordial past and earlier?"

"Yes!" Human Emperor nodded, "Back then, we classified the First Dao as the fifth tier, the Second Dao as the fourth tier, the Fourth Dao as the third tier, the Eighth Dao as the second tier."

Su Yu raised his brow. In that case, Great Zhou King hadn't been lying. His strength as a Seventh Dao did not make him a supreme powerhouse. He was merely a peak tier-three. Su Yu had been assuming that Great Zhou King was still lying about it.

But at present, Great Zhou King could be considered a Ninth Dao, right? Did that make him a second tier?

Definitely.

Therefore, Star might really not be that strong. The so-called Seventh Dao was merely tier three. Why did Star call someone like that a supreme powerhouse? Where were his standards?

"Do you double it again for the first tier? Sixteenth Dao?"

At that question, Human Emperor smiled, "You can say so. Even those beyond sixteen daos are considered first tier. Back then, we were the strongest. It was pointless to create more tiers beyond that."

That sounded like he was bragging. He was saying that they stopped at the first tier because it was pointless to go further. Nobody was stronger than them, so that would be a tier exclusive to them. What was the point?

Even with a tier beyond the first tier, the first tier would be empty since nobody else was that strong.

Su Yu frowned and asked, "With how strong Culture King and you were, was that not enough to fully defeat the myriad race?"

What was the point of keeping them around to cause trouble when Culture King was gone?

Human Emperor sighed and said, "As you said, the myriad races could easily unify in a crisis. That wouldn't be favorable for humanity. Also, a battle to the end would be too costly. At the time, I only needed a tiny bit of time to progress enough with my plan that the myriad races would no longer be a threat."

"Culture King's departure..."

Human Emperor sighed, "It was forced. Something happened to Wen Jue. He had to leave. In fact, he asked me if I wanted to deal with the myriad races before his departure."

Su Yu blinked. In that case, Culture King was actually quite dependable. He had actually sought Human Emperor out before leaving. Clearly, he understood the potential trouble his absence could cause.

But clearly, Human Emperor had rejected his offer.

Why?

Human Emperor said, "I didn't agree. There were many reasons, but the main reason was that a decisive battle would result in heavy injuries on both Culture King and me. However, we could definitely win.

"Then again, the Heaven Gate would open, and we would be too weak to deal with it. He would fail to rescue Wen Yu, and she would die. It wasn't worth it."

Su Yu raised his brow, "Was it a trap by Control King? Did Control King lure Time Sage away, knowing that the two of you wouldn't be willing to fight a war that would ruin everything for everyone? Our current situation is a direct result of your choice back then. Did Control King foresee all this?"

"Control played a role." Human Emperor nodded, "But Control wasn't the main culprit. The main culprit was either someone behind the Human Gate or the Earth Gate. There was a conflict of interest between the three gates. At the time, the Heaven Gate was near opening. Those behind the other two gates knew that.

"Furthermore, there was a higher number of powerhouses behind the Heaven Gate. Thus, they manufactured a trap to bait a clash between Heaven Gate and us, delaying its opening.

"Of course, we did not take it lying down. Before leaving, I strengthened the seal on the Hell Gate. My presence upstream has also been delaying the opening of the Human Gate. I managed to force the three gates to open at around the same time. That way, none of them will be able to get an advantage over the others."

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